Devil's Food
by Parsec
Summary: Him comes up with a delicious plan to destroy the Powerpuff Girls...
1. A Taste of Townsville

Devil's Food

By:  Mark J. Hadley

CHAPTER 1: "A Taste of Townsville" 

            The City of Townsville…but our story begins far beneath the city, deep underground, far from the prying eyes of the townsfolk.  For within the bowels of the Earth lies the lair of the most wretched evil in the history of mankind, the pure embodiment of all that is wicked and corrupt across the world, ever thirsting for power, ever hungering for torment…the one who never sleeps, and whose name dare not be spoken aloud.  The nefarious being known only as…Him…

            Pushing the door open from the back, the fiery red form of Him strode into the room, carrying a piece of paper with a report.  He rubbed his claw thoughtfully as he sat down on the couch alongside the cave wall, studying the report.  He spoke with a smile in his usual, high-pitched tone of voice, "Hmmm…all seems to be well in that section of the world.  Nothing like a daily regiment of evil to whet my appetite for the time being.  Now…on to Townsville…"

            Setting the report aside, the remote control for the television in front of him materialized in his claw, and he switched it on.  The image of Stanley Whitfield came onto the screen, and he spoke, "…as yet again, the day was saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls.  Mojo Jojo, who had apparently bit off more than he could chew this time, will be going off to prison once again.  His rampage earlier was stopped by the girls when they…"

            Angrily leaning forward, he growled at the screen, "Those little brats are _always_ ruining things!"  Sitting back, he steepled his claws in front of himself and narrowed his eyes, continuing, "Townsville has the greatest potential for evil in the _world_, and yet it's evil output is almost _zero_, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!  They've been seeds in my teeth for _too long_ now!  The time has come for their demise…but how…?"

            While he pondered this, the girls flew onscreen next to Stanley, who turned to them and said, "The city has your gratitude, Powerpuff Girls.  You three are the sweetest trio in town…how does it feel to be loved by all?"  Him scowled at that remark as Stanley thrust the microphone out in front of Buttercup for a comment.

            "Well, what can I say?" Buttercup shrugged.  "You've got good taste, Townsville…"

            Stanley returned the microphone and said, "There you have it…now, back to you, Lauren…"

            Him sat up a little, looking at the screen curiously, then clicked a button on the remote.  The image backed up a little and replayed part of the conversation…Buttercup said, "You've got good taste, Townsville…"  He backed it up again, "…good taste, Townsville…"  Backing it up once more, "…good taste…"

            A slow smile spread across his face as he switched the TV off, and he said with some glee, "Yessss…the town _does_ have good taste, doesn't it?  And I think it only fair that _you _should have even _better _taste, hmm?"  Standing up and spreading his arms out, dark swirls of energy surrounded his arms in a black, inky cloud…he cackled, pointed his arms up towards the ceiling, blasting a pillar of black-red energy into it.  The power spread up through the Earth, up through the base of Townsville, spreading invisibly up until it finally reached its targets and surrounding them, completely beyond their notice…

*          *            *

            The Powerpuff Girls said goodbye to Stanley and the camera crews, and flew off into the sky above the city.  Blossom was a little spattered with mud, from the fight, and thought, _Hmm, I'll have to take a bath when I get home.  _"All right," she said, surveying the scene below, "one more sweep, and we can call it an evening, okay?"

            "I'm tired after that fight," Bubbles sighed, "and hungry.  Can't we just go home?"

            "Yeah," Buttercup said.  "I wanna see that news report when it airs."

            "I promise, after we make one last check, okay?" Blossom assured her.  Bubbles smiled and nodded back, and the three of them continued their patrol.  Everything seemed quiet, until they passed over Townsville park, and heard a faint sound below, coming from the trees…a faint 'mew' sound…

            Descending for a closer look, Bubbles spotted a small white cat stuck in one of the trees, and said, "Don't worry, little fellah!  I've got ya!"  The cat mewed happily, and Bubbles carefully scooped the cat out from the branches, lifting it free from the tree.  The cat licked Bubbles' face appreciatively.

            "Good work, Bubbles!" Blossom called down.  "Now, put him back down on the ground, and let's get ready to go back home, okay?"

            Bubbles flew down to the ground to let the cat go.  The cat wouldn't leave her arms, though, and instead, licked the side of her face a few more times.  Bubbles giggled and said, "Wow, you're a friendly little kitty, aren't you?"  The cat licked her some more as if to answer, and she added, "I can't keep you, though…I gotta let you go…"

            As Bubbles started to pull the cat away from her, she suddenly yelped and dropped it, holding her hand over her cheek.  The cat landed on its feet and stared up at her.  Blossom curiously asked, "What's wrong?"

            "He _bit_ me!" Bubbles exclaimed, still holding her cheek.

            "What?  No way!" Buttercup said, shaking her head, as the two of them descended to land next to Bubbles.  Blossom carefully lifted Bubbles' hand away from her cheek to take a closer look…there was a tiny indent where she was bitten, but she wasn't hurt.  The cat, in the meantime, just sat there, not taking its eyes off of Bubbles.

            Blossom finished examining the spot and said, "It looks like you're all right…you should be a little more careful when handling strange pets, Bubbles."

            "But it was so friendly!" Bubbles protested, then glanced down at the cat again.  The way it was just sitting there staring at her was kind of creepy, in a way, so she added, "Let's just go home, ok?"

            "Fine by me," Buttercup said.  "It's almost time for dinner anyway."  The girls nodded to each other and took off.  The cat watched them leave, licking its lips for a moment, then scampered off further into the park…

*          *            *

            The girls arrived home just in time for dinner, and the Professor greeted them at the door, "So, how was your day?" he asked them, as they came inside the house.

            "Not bad," Blossom said, flying in next to her sisters.  "We stopped Mojo _again_…this was, what, the hundredth time?  You'd think he'd get the picture by now…"

            "Indeed," the professor said.  He noticed how Blossom was a little muddy and said, "Tough fight, though?"

            Blossom shook her head, "Nahh, nothing we couldn't handle.  I'll need a bath after dinner, though."

            Buttercup sniffed the air and said, "Mmmm…what's for dinner?"

            "A new vegetable soup I came up with," the professor said proudly.  "I think this is one of the best combinations I've made yet!"

            "It smells delicious, Professor!" Bubbles said with a smile.

            The professor nodded, sniffing the air as the girls flew past him, "Yes, it's my most aromatic…hmm…"  He sniffed the air some more and sighed happily, "It's even better than it was earlier…it's one of the most pleasant aromas I've ever encountered…"

            Taking their seats at the dinner table, the girls waited as the professor returned to the kitchen, bringing a pot back with him containing the soup.  He was still sniffing the air, with a curious look on his face, as he brought it over and set it down on the table.  The girls each flew over with a bowl, and he ladled the soup out into their bowls one at a time…he eyed them peculiarly for a moment, but the girls didn't notice.

            The girls started eating the soup, but the professor just watched them, only taking a very small sip of the soup himself.  Blossom stopped eating for a moment to comment, "This is great, Professor!  You've really outdone yourself!"

            "Yes…thank you…" he said, absently stirring his soup some more.  His gaze never strayed from the girls, and he slowly licked his lips hungrily as he took another sip of soup.

            Buttercup glanced up for a moment and noticed his blank stare, and asked, "Professor?  Are you okay?"

            He blinked a few times, and held his hand over his forehead, saying, "I'm fine, just…a little hungry I guess…excuse me!"  He suddenly stood up from the table and hurried out of the room.  The girls stared at him, then glanced at each other quizzically.

            "Hungry?  But…why didn't he finish dinner then?" Bubbles wondered.

            Shrugging, Buttercup just returned to her soup, while Blossom looked at the doorway where the professor had run off.  She thought, _I wonder what's wrong?  Hmm…_

            "Blossom!" came the professor's voice in the distance, sounding like it was coming from upstairs.  "I prepared that bath for you!"

            Looking back down at her soup, she realized she was pretty much done anyway, and got up from the table, saying, "Okay, coming…"  She flew upstairs, heading for the bathroom, just as the professor was coming out.  He smiled and nodded at her, and she smiled back, going inside and closing the door behind her.  As the professor had said, the bath was already full of bubbling water.

            Getting out of her muddy clothes, she went over and dipped a foot into the water.  She drew it back, though, yelping, "_Yeeeee!!_"  Frowning, she turned to the door and shouted, "Professor!  The water's too hot!  It's _boiling!_"

            "Really?" the professor said, "I'm sorry…my mistake…"

            Shaking her head, Blossom turned on the cold water until it cooled down, and reached for the shampoo, squirting some out into her hands.  She stared at it oddly for a moment, feeling it in her fingers, then lifted it up to her mouth and took a small lick.  Widening her eyes in surprise, she examined the bottle, and shouted, "Professor, what happened to the shampoo?  There's only a bottle of barbecue sauce up here…"

            His voice came back, "Uhh…dunno…"

            Sighing in frustration, she slid into the now-cooled water and just washed with the soap.  _Just an honest mistake, I guess_, she thought…_Still, there's something odd about the way the professor's acting, but I can't quite put my finger on it…_

            She had barely finished her bath, and was drying herself with a towel, when she heard the hotline buzzing in the other room.  She quickly threw on a fresh set of clothes, and rushed out…Bubbles had already answered the phone, and was saying, "A robbery?  We're on it!"

            As she hung up, Buttercup flew up to them and said, "So?  Where's it at?"

            "The bank again," Bubbles told them.

            Blossom nodded, "All right, let's go!"  They hurried out of the house, heading for the bank.  En-route, Blossom asked them, "Did it seem like the professor was acting…I dunno…strange to you?"

            "Not really," Bubbles answered.  "Why?"

            Rubbing her head for a moment, she said, "I don't know…maybe it's nothing.  Anyway, I can't worry about that right now…we've got to stop that bank robbery!"

*          *            *

            They arrived at the site, and as expected, the robbers were still present.  They were just coming out of the doors, when the girls swooped down on them.  Startled, they opened fire with their guns, but the bullets just bounced off as usual, and the girls quickly knocked the weapons from their hands.  Buttercup closed in on one of them, ready to swing a punch.

            That robber grabbed onto her other arm, and suddenly clamped his teeth down on it.  Buttercup was a little surprised by this move, and tried to shake him off, but he was clamped on tight, "Hey, leggo!"  Blossom and Bubbles had finished knocking out the other two robbers when they noticed the last one with Buttercup, and quickly flew over to help pry him off.

            Once he was off, Buttercup kicked him away into the wall of the bank, then held her arm where he had bit her, "Ow…that weirdo!  What was he _doing?_"

            The manager of the bank came out, as a group of onlookers formed a circle around them.  The manager walked up to Blossom and said, "Oh, thank you, Powerpuff Girls, thank you for saving the day yet again!"  He lifted Blossom's hand and kissed it courteously.

            Blossom gave him an odd look, and said, "Uh…sure, no problem…"  She looked away and noticed that the crowd was eyeing the three of them strangely.  Before she could say anything about it, though, she noticed that the bank manager, who was still holding onto her hand, had suddenly bared his teeth, and she quickly yanked her arm away with some alarm, as he bit down harmlessly on the empty air where her hand used to be.

            "What the…?" Buttercup started to say, but then noticed that the crowd was closing in towards them.  They were reaching out, with odd looks on their faces.  "Uhh…Blossom, something's not right here…"

            "They look hungry," Bubbles observed, as the three of them backed away from the crowd, until they were back-to-back with each other.  The people in the crowd _were_ licking their lips, and a few of them even produced knives and forks from who-knows-where.  Bubbles added, "Mayyybe we should get out of here…"

            "You're right…retreat!" Blossom ordered.  The three of them flew up together away from the crowd, getting some distance between them and the crowd as they soared over the city.  Blossom said, "Back to the professor, hurry…something funny's going on, and maybe he can help…"

*          *            *

            Him watched them fly across the city on his television, and sat back, grinning widely, "Yess, fly back to your professor, girls…I'm sure _he'll_ know what to do…"  He cackled gleefully, "Oh, I can't _wait _to see the looks on their faces when the professor does what I _think_ he'll do!  This is all simply _delicious_…but not as delicious as _they _are now!"

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	2. No Restaurant for the Weary

Devil's Food

By:  Mark J. Hadley

CHAPTER 2: "No Restaurant for the Weary" 

            The girls arrived back home, descending towards the door and flying inside quickly, slamming it shut behind them.  "Professor!" Blossom called out, "Are you still here?"

            The professor's voice came from the kitchen, "I'm in here, girls…back so soon?"

            "Yeah," Buttercup called back, as they flew over to the doorway into the kitchen, "You won't believe what just…happened…"  She trailed off, and all three girls gaped.  The professor was dressed in a cooking apron, and was chopping up vegetables, loading them into an _enormous_ pot of boiling water.  Narrowing one eye, Buttercup said, "Uhh…what are you doing?"

            Looking up at the girls, the professor smiled and answered, "Oh, just trying out a new recipe I thought of.  So, what happened?"

            Bubbles said, "This is gonna sound strange, but the people at the bank were trying to eat us…I think…"

            "Well, you _are _very sweet little girls," he pointed out, chuckling a little at his own joke.

            "Professor!  This is serious!" Blossom exclaimed.  "Something fishy's going on, and we have to get to the bottom of it."

            Stepping back from the table, the professor nodded, "You're right, of course.  I'll see what I can do to figure out what's wrong."  He turned towards a table and started rummaging through some jars of oils and spices.

            Bubbles flew up to the edge of the pot and peeked in over the edge.  Curiously, she asked, "So what's the new recipe?"

            "Oh, it'll be the greatest tasting soup in _existence_ when I'm done with it!" the professor said proudly, then whispered to himself as he continued searching through the jars on the table, "Now, where did I put it…"

            The other girls joined Bubbles by her side, looking into the pot also.  Dipping her hand in the liquid, Bubbles carefully tasted it, and made a face, saying, "It doesn't taste that good right now…"

            Finding a tiny bottle he was looking for he examined it, smiling, and told her, "That's because I haven't added the secret ingredient yet…"

            "Oh?  What _is _the secret ingredient?" Blossom asked.

            He spun around suddenly, splashing the contents of the bottle towards the girls, and shouted, "_You!_"  Blossom and Buttercup yelped in surprise and flew back in time, but the black liquid in the bottle splattered across Bubbles.  She fell back, landing on the ground, and tried to wipe it out of her eyes.

            "Wha….what do you mean, us?" Buttercup stammered in alarm.

            Instead of answering, the professor started splashing more of the contents of the bottle towards her.  Buttercup quickly flew out of the way and took cover behind the pot.  Blossom joined her a moment later.  Bubbles sat up and looked at her hands, saying, "Girls!  M-my powers are gone!!"

            "Antidote X," the professor grinned.  "I figured it'd make you easier to capture…"  He started walking around to the edge of the pot, holding the bottle ready…

            Blossom cried out, "Let's get out of here!"  She scooped up Bubbles, and the three of them quickly made a break for the door.  The professor splashed the Antidote X at them again, but missed, and they managed to escape from the kitchen.  He set the bottle down on the table angrily, and cupped his hands around his mouth, calling after them, "C'monnn!  What am I going to do with just a pot of _vegetables?_"

            They didn't stop until they were well out of the house.  Once they were safely away, in the sky, Buttercup shook her head, "I can't believe it…the professor, too!  What's going on?"

            "Is this affecting _everyone?_" Blossom wondered.  "Girls, we have to be careful dealing with anyone from this point on, all right?  We don't want them to catch us…"

            "I don't blame you…who _knows_ what they'd do?" Buttercup said, shuddering at the thought.  "They'd probably eat me and Bubbles as an appetizer, then finish you off as the main course…"

            "Yeah," Blossom said grimly…but then, she glared at Buttercup and added, "Hey, what are you implying?"

            Folding her arms, Buttercup said, "I'm _implying_ that _someone_ shouldn't eat so many desserts and snacks between _meals_ all the time…"

            Bubbles, who was still dangling from Blossom's grasp, cried, "I don't wanna be an appetizeeerrrr!!"

            "Don't worry, Bubbles," Blossom assured her.  "Nobody's eating _anybody_…we just need to figure out what's causing them all to act like this, and reverse it somehow, got it?"

            Before they could say another word, though, a small pigeon flew over and landed on Blossom's head where they were hovering.  Peering up at it, startled, Blossom said, "What the…?"  A moment later, the pigeon started pecking at the top of her head, and Blossom tried to shoo it away with her free arm, "Hey, _ow!  _Stop it!!"

            As Blossom waved her arm around, trying to get the pigeon off, more pigeons appeared, and they started surrounding the girls, trying to peck at them.  Buttercup furiously swung her arms to keep them back, but they kept closing in.  Bubbles just covered her head, clenching her eyes shut.  Eventually, Blossom yelled, "Head for the trees!" and started for a wooded area below them.  Buttercup followed right behind her, still swatting pigeons away.

            Once they were safely amongst the trees, they had lost the birds.  They waited a few moments to make sure the area was clear, and poked their heads out from their hiding places.  "This stinks," Buttercup said.  "Even the _birds_ are after us…"

            "We're safe for now," Blossom said, "so let's think.  What's causing this?  Why is everything so eager to eat us?"

            "I dunno," Buttercup shrugged.  "It's not like we _taste _good or anything…"  She looked at the back of her hand for a moment, then gave it a small lick.  Widening her eyes slightly, she licked again and said, "Hey…I'm not half bad!"

            Blossom was surprised by this reaction, and cautiously licked her own hand…she looked back up at Buttercup and said, "You're right, me too!  I mean, it's not good enough for me to want to _eat _or anything, though…"  Bubbles sniffed her own hand curiously for a few moments.

            Nodding, Buttercup said, "Me either…but _these_ people can't keep their hands off of us!  So why is it doing that to them, but not to us?"

            "Maybe it doesn't have the same effect on us," Blossom suggested.  "Maybe to these people, we taste really _really _good…like, I don't know, a hundred times better than the _best_ pizza in the _world_…"

            Buttercup whistled and said, "That's one delicious pizza…"

            "But _we're_ not pizza," Bubbles insisted.  "We're little girls!  Why would they want to eat little girls, no matter _how _good they taste?"

            "They probably can't help it, Bubbles," Blossom said.  "It could be hypnotic somehow.  Which leads me to believe that something might be causing this…it all started after the fight with Mojo, so maybe it was something _he _did…"

            "Yeah, it's gotta be Mojo's fault!" Buttercup frowned, punching one fist into her other.  "Whaddaya say we head over to the prison and 'question' him a little?"

            "Right, let's…" Blossom began, but then stopped as she noticed a shadow looming over them.  The girls all swiveled around, and saw someone approaching…they recognized him in an instant…and he looked upset…

            "Durn Powerpuff Girls!" Fuzzy Lumpkins growled.  "I done told ya b'fore, git _offah_ mah _property!!_"  He dove at them, and the girls immediately split up, going different directions.  It took Blossom and Buttercup a moment to notice that Bubbles was fleeing on foot, since her powers were still gone…luckily, she still managed to dodge, and Fuzzy landed from his dive on the ground next to her.

            Buttercup called out, "Bubbles, run!"

            Fuzzy got partially back up, and sniffed the air for a moment, his expression changing from anger to amazement, "Whoo-eee!" he exclaimed, "I smells somethin' deeeeee-licious!"  He fixed his gaze hungrily at Bubbles, still right next to him, and Bubbles yelped, scrambling away as fast as she could.

            It looked like Fuzzy was about to chase after her, so the other girls quickly flew closer waved their arms to get his attention…Blossom shouted, "Hey, over here!"  This distracted him long enough for Bubbles to get to a safe distance, heading off further into the woods.  "Okay, now that she's safe, let's loop back around and…" Blossom started to say.

            "RHAAAARGH!" Fuzzy snarled, leaping at them abruptly.  His speed took them by surprise, and in the next instant, they were both pinned to the ground under his hands.  They struggled, but couldn't break free…if there was one thing they knew well about Fuzzy, it was that his strength was nearly unstoppable when he's upset.  They stared up in shock as Fuzzy grinned down at them and said, "Ah _gotcha!_  Now…reckon ah'll have _me_ a lil' _snack_…"

            "How about a little _smack_ instead?" Buttercup said, pulling one of her arms free and swinging a punch at Fuzzy's wrist.  He yelped, and jumped back, grabbing hold of that wrist, but he had let the girls go in the process…they both quickly flew at him, and a couple of punches later, he was down for the count.

            "Whew," Blossom said, wiping off her forehead and looking down at the unconscious Fuzzy.  "That was close…"

            "Yeah, no kidding," Buttercup nodded.  She looked around for a moment and said, "Hey, where's Bubbles?"  Blossom glanced around the woods as well, but neither of them could spot her anywhere.

            "She must have run off," Blossom pondered aloud, then cupped her hands by her mouth and shouted, "Bubbles!  Can you hear me?"  Listening for a moment, she found no answer coming back…

            Buttercup shouted in the other direction, "Bubbles!  C'mon, where are ya?"  No response either.  "We'd better look for her…"

            "Yeah," Blossom agreed.  "Without her powers, she's too vulnerable, especially with everyone chasing us down like this…"  They both took off and started combing through the trees, trying to find any trace of her…completely unaware that she had already left the woods, and was running off further into Townsville…

*          *            *

            Bubbles jogged down one of the first alleys she saw when she made it into the city, and stopped to catch her breath up against the wall.  _That was so scary_, she thought, _the way that Fuzzy looked at me…they really _are _tryin' to eat us!  What are we gonna do?!  And…with  my powers gone, how am I gonna get away if they come after me?_

            She was about to find out, because at that moment, one of the townspeople peeked into the alley and pointed at her, yelling, "There's one of them!  After her!"  At least a dozen more people charged into the alley, and Bubbles quickly started running for the opposite side, which emptied out onto the street.  She had a lead on them, and even though she was tired, she smiled, thinking, _I'm gonna make it!_

            That's when another group of people appeared at that side of the alley, blocking off her escape.  Bubbles skidded to a halt, and turned around…she was trapped!  She glanced around feverishly, looking for a way out as they approached her from both sides, and spotted a small basement window near the ground by the alley.  Diving for it, she kicked it open—luckily, it wasn't locked—and started to crawl through.

            Before she could make it all the way, one of them grabbed onto her leg.  She tried to kick herself free, but then her other leg was caught as well.  Before she could do a thing, they had pulled her out of the window and back into the alley.  She tried to call for help, "_GIR—_…" but was interrupted by someone tying a gag over her mouth…someone else quickly tied her up with some rope.

            They triumphantly rose her in the air over their heads, giving a victorious cheer, and ran as a group out of the alley, carrying her along with them overhead, like some kind of trophy.  Various shouts went up from the people: "We've got her!"  "Back to the diner!"  "It's dinnertime!"  "Hey, is there enough to go around?"  Bubbles couldn't budge; she was tied up too securely…all she could do was hope that the other girls would find her in time…

*          *            *

            Him nearly fell off of his couch, he was laughing so hard.  "Oh this is just _precious!_" he exclaimed, watching the latest turn of events on his TV.  He was eager to see which of them would be the first to be eaten, and it looked like Bubbles would be it.  "What do you know?  She'll be an appetizer _after _all…"  He changed the view on the screen back to the other girls, and raised an eyebrow as he saw which way they were heading, and added, "On second thought…if they go _that _way, then Bubbles might end up being _dessert _instead!"  He sat back to watch, knowing that the girls had no idea who they were heading towards…probably the only one capable of taking them down while they still _have_ their powers…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	3. DevourPuff Girls

Devil's Food

By:  Mark J. Hadley

CHAPTER 3: "DevourPuff Girls" 

            The townspeople burst into the diner, carrying the bound and gagged Bubbles.  They quickly tossed her onto one of the tables, all of them gathering around.  She struggled to free herself, but was having a hard time…besides, where could she go, with everyone surrounding her?  She didn't know what to do…it looked like the end.  If the girls didn't show up soon, all they might find would be leftovers…

            "All right!" one of the townspeople said, "We've got her!  Fire up the grill, and let's get cooking!"

            "Wait a minute, we're not going to _grill _her, are we?" someone else said.  "She could burn…"

            "Well, what do _you _suggest?" a third person said.

            The second person suggested, "How about we boil her?  We can get a pot of water going in about…"

            "No way!" a fourth shouted.  "Let's just fry her…I'm hungry _now!_"

            A fifth person approached the table and said, "If you're hungry now, then use the microwave, it'll be the fastest!"

            "We can't do that!" the second person said.  "It'll be like putting a potato in there!  I'm telling you, boiling's the best way!"

            "No, we should grill!" the first person reiterated.

            "Fry!" yelled the fourth.

            "Microwave!"

            "Boil!"

            "_Grill!_"

            "_Fry!_"

            "_Microwave!_"

            "_Boil!_"

            The crowd all started arguing, each of them taking sides, as they tried to decide the best way to cook Bubbles.  She, in the meantime, started to roll over to the edge of the table while their attention was off of her.  As she did, she felt herself rolling over something that was on the table…she felt it with the tips of her hands that were sticking out from the ropes, and discovered that it was a fork…a little more searching, and she found a knife, also.

            Bubbles started moving against this to slowly cut through the ropes that were holding her.  She cast glances back at the people to make sure they were still arguing, and tried to hurry it along.  _Just a little more,_ she thought…_there!_  The ropes fell away from  her arms, and she quickly pulled the ropes off of herself, kicking them away, and taking off the gag from around her mouth.  Thankfully, the people were too busy arguing to notice any of this.  She smiled a little…sometimes the stupidity of the townspeople came in handy.

            Quietly, she hopped down from the table and snuck out of the front part of the diner towards the back, into the kitchen.  She stopped to catch her breath at the close call, and then started looking for a back exit to the place… _They'll notice I'm gone pretty soon, _she thought, _so I'd better make sure I'm not here when they do…_

*          *            *

            "Bubbles!" Buttercup called out as they combed through the trees.  Blossom was looking for her as well, but wasn't having any better luck than _she_ was.  They both began to worry…she could be in serious trouble without her powers, and they had to find her fast.

            "Where could she be?" Blossom fretted.  "We've looked everywhere…"

            Buttercup suggested, "Maybe she's not in the woods anymore…"  She trailed off suddenly, and tilted her head to the side, "Wait, do you hear that?"

            "What?" Blossom said, listening.

            "I hear something," Buttercup said, "but it _can't _be Bubbles, it's moving too fa—…"  She didn't get to finish what she was saying, as suddenly a bright orange blur of light arced across the sky, ramming into her and slamming her into the ground in the woods below.  Blossom gasped and flew after her to see what had happened.

            Buttercup was on the ground, dazed…she looked up to see what had hit her.  Standing across from her was someone that she had almost forgotten about, that called these woods home…in a little bit of disbelief, she said, "Bullet?"

            The super-powered squirrel that Bubbles had rescued some time back was standing at the ready, but his expression wasn't a friendly one…instead, he looked at her with a determined glare, although he still seemed to be smiling.  _Oh great,_ Blossom though, from her position above them, _not him, too!  Fighting off Fuzzy is one thing, but Bullet has all of our powers, too!  And he's our friend…we can't hurt him!_

            Bullet pounced at Buttercup, and she had enough time to say, "No, wait…!" before getting slammed into…the force of his impact caused the two of them to slide about a hundred feet through the woods, a trench of dirt digging up behind them as they went.  Buttercup decided that she had had enough, and kicked Bullet off of her with both of her legs.  The squirrel was knocked past a few tree branches and tumbled through the air a few times before coming to a halt.

            Flying over, Blossom called out, "Bullet, it's us!  Don't you recognize us?"  Instead of answering, bullet shot past her in a streak, grabbing hold of her ponytail and yanking her along with him.  "Hey!" Blossom exclaimed…Bullet spun her around and then tossed her straight down towards the ground.  She hit the ground, leaving a crater and creating a little shower of dirt and leaves in that section of the woods.

            Before she could recover, Bullet had dropped down to where she was, and clamped onto her arm with his teeth.  Blossom yelped and waved her arm wildly to try and shake him off, "Ow, _OW!!  Leggo!!_"

            He wouldn't budge, though…shaking the arm vigorously a few more times, she flung him off into the air at last.  Bullet only flew a few feet before he started hovering again…he was about to dive towards Blossom once again, when he was suddenly tackled from behind by Buttercup, the tackle carrying him into the treetops.  She let go as he crashed amongst the branches, and flew back to a safe distance.

            "Thanks, Buttercup," Blossom said, rubbing her arm and flying up to where Buttercup was.

            "No problem," Buttercup replied.  "But Bullet will probably be up any second…"

            No sooner than she had said this, the squirrel emerged from the treetops, heading right for them.  The two of them prepped themselves for his attack, but he unexpectedly fired his eyebeams at them while he was still halfway to them.  This took them by surprise, and both of them were knocked from the sky.

            They crash-landed together into the side of a large tree, then fell to the ground.  Both of them seemed to have been knocked out…as they lay still at the base of the tree, Bullet landed in front of them.  He rubbed his tiny paws together in expectation, then started towards them, grinning hungrily…

*          *            *

            There turned out to be a back exit from the diner right in the kitchen.  _What luck!_ Bubbles thought…until she noticed that the door was locked.  Frowning, she climbed up onto the counter directly next to the door and tugged on the lock a few times.  Naturally, it wouldn't give, so she started looking around to see if the key was lying around someplace by any chance.

            She didn't see it, but then her eyes fell on a roast chicken that was cooking over one of the stoves on a long metal spike.  She carefully pulled the spike down—it was a little heavy, but not too bad—and started carrying it over to the door.  She paused for a moment, reaching down in an attempt to slide off the roast chicken so that it wouldn't be so heavy, but pulled her hand back with an "EEP!"…it was too hot.  She shrugged, and just continued the rest of the way to the door.

            Carefully aiming the spike at the lock, Bubbles shoved it hard…it struck, and Bubbles could see some dents forming.  After repeating the process a couple more times, it broke off, and the door immediately pushed open from the impact.  Her momentum carried her and the spike over the edge of the counter and through the door, where she landed outside on the ground.

            She rubbed her head and sat up, taking a look around…it was the alley behind the diner.  Relieved that she had made it out all right, Bubbles got back to her feet and dusted her clothes off.  That's when she heard a snarling sound…spinning around, she looked at the exit to the alley and screamed loudly in surprise, as she saw a pack of dogs gathering by the entrance.  They were growling at her, and she already knew what was on their minds…

            One started to trot towards her, so she quickly picked up the spike, roast chicken and all, and held it up defensively, yelling, "Back!  Stay back!"  The rests of them came into the alley…she waved the spike around to try to keep them at bay, but she could see that their attention was too focused on her.  They continued to advance, as she continued to back up, shouting, "Go _away_, you mean ol' dogs!  Go _away!_"

            The alley was a dead end, though…there was nothing but a pile of junk and empty boxes, and nowhere for her to go.  With little else to do, she decide to try something else…letting the end of the spike fall to the ground, she braced her foot on top of the roast chicken and pushed down hard, pulling the spike back up at the same time.  It worked; the chicken came free, and she quickly kicked it towards the dogs, then ran back to the boxes to take cover.

            Peeking out from her cover, she saw that it worked.  The dogs may have been focused on her, but they still couldn't pass up an effortless meal like the chicken.  All of them gathered around it and started eating.  Bubbles smiled and stayed where she was, waiting for them to finish, so that she could get out of the alley safely…at least, she _hoped _that they would leave after they were finished…

*          *            *

            Buttercup opened her eyes groggily, and blinked a few times to clear her vision…she suddenly noticed someone face-to-face with her: Bullet.  He had just finished tying a tiny bib around his neck, and bared his teeth, just about to bite into Buttercup's leg…snapping back to full attention in an instant, Buttercup yelled and pulled her leg away from him just in time.  Bullet ended up biting down onto empty air…he narrowed his eyes at Buttercup, glaring at her in slight annoyance.

            "Hey, don't look at me like that!" Buttercup shouted, climbing back to her feet.  "You _could _be helping us instead of trying to _eat _us, you know…"  Bullet gave a little shrug in return, yanking his bib off and preparing to pounce at her again…she braced herself…

            As the squirrel launched himself at Buttercup, a wave of cold air suddenly rolled across him.  When it cleared, Bullet was frozen solid in a block of ice, with a wide-eyed expression.  He fell to the ground with a *_thunk_*, and Buttercup looked over at Blossom, who had obviously woken up during the commotion and used her ice breath.

            Buttercup thanked her, "Fast thinking, Red!"

            "Thanks," Blossom nodded…then cocked her head suddenly to the side, as she heard a scream come from the distance…one that sounded just like Bubbles.  "Did you hear…"

            "Yeah, c'mon!" Buttercup shouted.  The two of them immediately took off in the direction of the sound.  It came from inside Townsville, and they started looking below to see if they could spot where it had come from.  Eventually, when they reached the diner, Buttercup spotted something below and pointed, "Look!"

            They saw the pack of dogs all clambering around something in the alley.  Without wasting a single moment, the two of them dropped out of the sky and fired eyebeam blasts at the ground around them to scare them off.  The dogs jumped at the near misses and scrambled out of the alley…but the girls saw that they had left something behind: a tiny pile of bones…

            Blossom gasped, "Oh no…"  She slowly lowered to the ground, landing next to the bones, and fell to her knees, staring at them.  Tears filled her eyes as she whispered, "B-Bubbles…no…w-we were…too late…"  She buried her head in her arms, crying.  Buttercup landed next to her, staring at the bones in equal shock, and closed her eyes as tears escaped from them as well.

            As the two wept, Bubbles poked her head out from the stack of boxes, relieved that the dogs were finally gone.  She was surprised to see her sisters there, and noticed they were crying over something, so she curiously wandered over.  The girls didn't notice her immediately, since their backs were to her.  She stood on her tip-toes to get a better look over them, and saw the chicken bones.  Scratching her head, she said, "Um, there's more chicken inside, if you wanted some _that_ badly…"

            The two of them looked up, then turned their heads to stare at Bubbles.  Blossom's expression turned to one of great relief as she nearly tackled Bubbles in a hug, crying, "Bubbles!  You're alive!"

            "Of course," Bubbles said, still confused.  "Why wouldn't I be?"

            Blossom didn't press the matter any further, she just smiled, happy to be seeing her sister again.  Buttercup, though, was glancing back and forth between Bubbles and the pile of bones…after a few moments, she just shook her head and said, "Ahh, I'll figure it out later…good to see you're okay, Bubbles."

            Bubbles nodded back and said, "Maybe we should go, before the people in the diner here find us…"  Agreeing, the other girls scooped her up and took off for the skies, back on their original course: to find Mojo, and hopefully discover what was causing all of this…

*          *            *

            Him tightened his claws on the armrest of his couch, growling, "Those little brats have more lives than a _cat!_"  He settled down at last and said in a more pleasant tone of voice, "That's okay…they're heading in completely the wrong direction!  And they have _no idea_ that the professor's still looking for them…it's only a matter of time before the snare _finally _closes, and those three get their just desserts…"

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	4. Do Me a Flavor

Devil's Food

By:  Mark J. Hadley

CHAPTER 4: "Do Me a Flavor" 

            Mojo sat alone in his cell, carefully scrawling out his escape plan on the floor.  It was shaping up beautifully, and he knew that, even though it would take some work, he'd have an escape route soon enough.  He didn't expect quite how soon, however, as suddenly, the Powerpuff Girls burst in through the wall, leaving a sizeable hole in his cell.  As he looked up in surprise, Blossom set Bubbles down and said, "All right, Mojo, time to confess!  What'd you _do_ to us earlier?"

            "What are you talking about?" Mojo growled.  "I did nothing to you!  That is the problem, for you see, I _tried _ to do something to you: destroy you…but I failed to accomplish this, which is why nothing is what I ended up doing…"

            "Not _that!_" Buttercup said, interrupting him.  "We're talkin' about why everyone in town's tryin' to _eat _us!  You had somethin' to do with it, _didn't_ you?"

            "Everyone is trying to eat you?  How truly fascinating," Mojo lied.

            "C'monnn, we've had a long day," Bubbles said.  "I'm tired, and I wanna go home without worrying if someone's gonna eat me while we sleep…Just tell us what you did, okay?  Please?"

            "You're crazy!  How could I…" Mojo started to say, but trailed off.  He took a whiff of the air, and his expression softened as he said, "That…that magnificent aroma!  It is like ambrosia…truly the scent of something succulent and flavorful, indeed!  I must have it!"  He took a few more sniffs, then his eyes settled on the girls…

            Buttercup cringed, "Aw man, not you _too_…"

            "He looks so surprised," Bubbles pointed out.

            Blossom nodded, "Girls, I don't think he's behind this one…let's get out of here, before…"  Mojo didn't give them the chance…he jumped for them, but Blossom and Buttercup quickly picked up Bubbles and hovered back a safe distance…he crashed into the pile of rubble they made when they burst in, and the girls took off before he could recover.  Mojo stayed where he was on the ground and drummed his fingers irritably…

            As they gained distance from the prison, soaring over the treetops again near the edge of Townsville, Buttercup said, "Well, _I'm _outta ideas…"

            "Yeah," Bubbles agreed.  "If Mojo didn't do it, then who…"  Bubbles stopped talking when she and the other girls spotted something flying up from the woods below towards them…a small, round, metallic object.  It stopped and hovered in the air next to them…they were too startled by its swift appearance to know what to think about it.

            A light flashed on the side, and with a loud *_pop*_, a large sphere of black liquid suddenly seemed to just _materialize_ around it…and around the girls as well, since they were close enough.  It was like they had abruptly been dunked into a pool, but only for a moment before gravity took hold of the liquid, causing it to splash down to the ground below.  The girls fell right along with it, almost as if it carried them with it.

            As they lay sputtering on the ground, in the small clearing where they landed, Blossom coughed and said, "What was _that?_"

            Wiping the stuff from her face, Buttercup glanced down at her arm, flexing it a few times and noticing that she didn't feel quite as strong as before.  She remarked, "Uh, Blossom…I think my powers are gone…"

            "Mine too!" Blossom exclaimed, as she tried to take flight, but failed.  "It must have been Antidote X, but…"

            "That it was," came a familiar voice.  They swiveled their heads to look at its source, and saw Professor Utonium walking towards them from the trees.  He was carrying something that looked vaguely like a grenade launcher, and was smiling triumphantly.  "A simple matter of creating a dehydrated form of Antidote X, where it can be rehydrated to instantly fill a large area.  Sort of an 'Antidote X bomb', if you will…"

            Quickly getting back to their feet, the girls started to back away from him, since they knew exactly what was on his mind.  Bubbles asked, "Professor…why?  Why are you trying to eat us?!"

            "How could I not?" the professor said, with no hesitation.  "I'd give _anything _to sample something _that _delicious!"  As the professor grew nearer, they noticed other shapes coming from the woods behind him as well…over a hundred citizens of Townsville, most of them holding knives and forks, and some of them holding spoons as well.  Their hungry glares frightened the girls even more, now that they were utterly defenseless.

            "There they are!" one of them shouted, and others started to call out as well.

            "Let's get 'em!"

            "Dibs on Bubbles!"

            "Wonder if Buttercup really _will_ taste like butter?"

            "Oh boy, I can't wait!"

            Buttercup was still backing up, and said, "But…but…aw man…this bites…"

            "You couldn't be more right, Buttercup!" another voice said, echoing through the woods.  As the girls glanced around in confusion, the voice laughed with a similar echo, before the sound converged on a point in front of them, and a plume of red smoke burst into existence.  As it cleared, the shape of Him became visible, wearing a victorious grin.

            Blossom narrowed her eyes, as everything fell into place, "Him…I should have known…"

            "What are you doing here?" Buttercup demanded with a frown.

            Him settled down on the branch of the nearest tree, and waved a claw, saying, "Ohh, I've just come to chew the fat a little, before _yours _gets chewed…"

            "I'm _not fat!_" Bubbles shouted, clenching her teeth.  "And whatever you did, it's not gonna work!"

            "But it _is _working," Him pointed out, indicating the hungry citizens.  "They want nothing more than a Powerpuff snack, and _you _are completely powerless to stop them!  The spell I've put upon you to make you so appealing is _far_ too much for them to resist.  That's a lot to digest, but at least _you _won't be!"

            Buttercup finally ended up backing up against a tree as the crowd grew closer.  With confidence she didn't feel, she said, "You're not gonna get away with this!"

            Him laughed and said, "I already have…there's no way out for you this time!  The smell of victory is already at hand!"

            "Smell…" Blossom said to herself, thinking furiously.  She suddenly brightened and said, "That's _it!_"  Grabbing Bubbles' and Buttercup's arms, she exclaimed, "Quick, follow me, I have a plan!"  She turned and ran away from the crowd as fast as she could, pulling the girls with her, although they were more than eager to follow anyway since the crowd ran after them as well.  Him was perplexed at the mention of a plan, although he figured there wasn't anything they could do, so he followed the crowd with some amusement.

            The girls charged as fast as they could through the woods.  Thanks to their small size, they were able to dart between the trees with relative ease, where the larger townspeople had to detour around the smaller gaps.  Still, it was a lot on them, and they were started to get tired.  Buttercup took another glance behind her to see how close the crowd was, and accidentally tripped over a tree root, hitting the ground face-first.

            "Buttercup!" the other girls shouted.  Bubbles was the closest, so she quickly helped her sister to her feet and pulled her along, following after Blossom.  The crowd seemed to be getting closer now, so they didn't stop again for an instant.

            Bubbles panted, and asked, "Where are we going?"

            "You'll see!" Blossom called back.  "It's right up ahead…"

            The crowd, in the meantime, had lost sight of them, but had spread their numbers out to ensure that they wouldn't be able to double back past them.  Eventually, as they emerged from the woods, they came upon the one place left for them to go: Townsville Dump.  Him smiled a little to himself and said, "A dead end…nowhere to run now, my tasty little morsels!  And you won't be able to hide for long, either!"

            What the townspeople saw as they entered the dump, though, they didn't expect…the girls stood there, not too far from the entrance, in plain sight, not running or hiding.  All three of them, though, were covered from head to toe with garbage, like they had just jumped into a pile of trash.  Rotting banana peels, greenish sludge, and other disgusting garbage literally dripped from them.  Blossom stood confidently, though Buttercup was frowning, and said, "This had better work…"

            "Gross, gross, gross, gross…" Bubbles whispered, closing her eyes and trying to ignore the tremendously foul odor they were now giving off.  The crowd came to a stop near them, keeping their distance because of the stench, some of them actually backing up.

            The professor, who was in the front, looked like he was going to be sick, and looked away from them, saying, "Ugh…y'know, I…I think I'll pass…phew!"  Other townspeople began to wave them off as well.

            Him was flabbergasted, and exclaimed, "What?  But…how can this be?!"

            "It's easy," Blossom claimed.  "I noticed that the one thing common between all of them as they came after us was that picked up the scent we gave off…which means that it had to be what was enticing them.  So I figured, if we do away with the smell, we're safe!  And the dump seemed like the best way."

            "Yeah," Bubbles said.  "I just wish it didn't hafta be so yucky…"

            Buttercup just shrugged, "This beats bein' a side dish, anyway, right?"

            Clenching his teeth and claws angrily, Him seethed for a few moments, then growled, "You think you've beaten me?  Think again, you little brats!"  He calmed down and started to swirls of energy around his claws, forming them into a black, inky cloud, and said, "I'll just put the spell back _on_ you again…only _this _time, it'll be too strong to cover up with mere garbage!"

            "Uh oh…" Bubbles said, watching as Him finished making the cloud and started sending it in their direction.  "Blossom?"

            "Operation Backdraft!" Blossom quickly ordered.  The three of them took in deep breaths, and just before the cloud reached them, they blew at it…even without their super-breath, they managed to blow it safely away from them and back in the direction it came from.  Him had time to blink once in surprise before the cloud surrounded him, and he coughed a few times…

            All of the townies, who had been in the midst of heading for the dump's exit, stopped and sniffed the air, then turned to face Him.  As he glanced around, they all started to converge on his position, and he protested, "Now wait just a minute here…"

            Buttercup took a whiff of the air as well, "Mmmm…smell that?"

            "_Do_ I!" Bubbles said, licking her lips, "I'm feeling kinda hungry right about now, aren't you?"

            Nodding, Blossom smiled and said, "I don't know about _you_, but _I_ could go for some devil's food right about now…"

            The three of them started walking towards Him, as he waved his claws and said, "No, wait!  Y-you don't want to eat _me! _ I'll burn the roof of your mouth!"  As he realized that all the townies were also closing around him as well, he finally gave up and just said, "Ah well…it looks like this meal's to go…" and vanished in a puff of smoke before they could reach him, returning to his lair in defeat.

            Now that he was gone, and the spell was broken, everyone snapped back to their senses.  Most of them turned their gazes over at the Powerpuff Girls sheepishly, looking apologetic, while the professor scooped them up and hugged them tightly, "Oh, girls, I'm so sorry for what I almost did…"

            "It's okay, Professor, it wasn't your fault," Buttercup said.

            "Yeah," Blossom agreed.  "We know you'd _never_ do anything like that.  It was all just part of Him's evil plans."

            As everyone started to leave the dumps and head for home, the professor joined them, carrying the girls with him, "Well, let's get you back home.  I'll need to give you each a shot of Chemical X to give your powers back…"  He wrinkled his nose and held them out at arm's length, "…and a bath, too."

            "Bah," Buttercup said, folding her arms, "I _knew _there was something that stunk about this plan…"  The rest of them laughed as they passed through the gates leading out of the dumps.

*          *            *

            It took a while to get rid of the smell of garbage, but eventually they succeeded and were clean again.  Having given each of the girls a small injection of Chemical X, the professor was about to send them off to bed, until he realized that they hadn't really eaten much, other than the little bit of soup they had at dinner.  He decided to let them have a late snack before it was time to go to sleep.

            Bubbles watched as Buttercup scooped out some strawberry ice cream into dishes for the three of them, and said, "You know…I wonder if there really _is_ anything in the world that tastes so good, people wouldn't care what it looked like…"

            "Maybe," Blossom guessed, "but I'll bet ice cream can't be too far off, right?"

            Buttercup just finished a few last touches to Blossom's dish with some chocolate sauce, and slid it over to her, saying, "Yeah, you bet…"  As Blossom picked up her spoon and was about to start eating, she noticed that Buttercup had drawn a face on it…with the big eyes, hairline with bangs, and the pink color of the strawberry ice cream, it didn't look too far off from herself.

            Blossom looked up at the smugly-grinning Buttercup, then back down at the ice cream, then shrugged, "Oh well…you are what you eat, I guess…"  She dipped her spoon into the dish and started eating as the other girls giggled.

            And so, once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!  Sorry, no leftovers!

THE END 


End file.
